Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Thousands of Internet fans play hide-and-seek with Momo the border collie every day, and now you can, too. Momo and his best buddy Andrew Knapp have traveled all over—through fields, down country roads, across cities, and into yards, neighborhoods, and surreal spaces of all sorts. The result is a book of spectacular photography that’s also a game you can play anytime. Lose yourself in page after page of Andrew’s beautiful, serene, dreamlike images, and sooner or later you’ll find Momo’s sweet, eager face looking back at you. (Can’t find him? Don’t worry…the answers are in the back.)

This is a fun fun book. I actually learned about Momo (the dog) on instagram one day when I was exploring on there and saw a picture where people would like and find Momo.. similar to Where's Waldo. When I discovered him on instagram with the hashtag #foundmomo I had to go on the internet to discover who this dog is. I then discovered there is an entire book full of pictures that you can look through and find Momo so I headed to the library to find this book.

Find Momo at the video store

One thing I really enjoyed about the book was at the very end of the book there is a cheat guide on where Momo is in case you can't find him. There is also an explanation about a few of the pictures you see in the book about where and when the picture was taken. Nice personal touch to the book. I have always been interested in book where you find things. I am a huge fan of Where's Waldo, though I thought the I, Spy books were a little too easy. This would be such a fun and perfect book for a guest room in your house.

Find Momo

This book makes me want to be a better photographer! I mean I am always trying to be one but don't always succeed. I have two cats though so they wouldn't really be great for me to get hide-and-seek pictures with them. Someone needs to do this with a cat pronto! I like how this book brings some feel good into the world. Just fun and positive to look at. You really should add this to who you follow on instagram. Such a fantastic and fun book!

Find Momo in a bookstore

Did you find Momo in the pictures above???? You can also go to the website and look around at all the pictures there if you don't have an instagram. Enjoy!

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Let's chat about what's going on this week... on my blog.. on other
blogs... on the internet... and just everywhere!
I link up my post to Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Reader.

I was absent this last week because I was off visiting family.... normal posts will be up soon. We were off in TX though the weather was not as warm as I would've liked. I wanted it to be the 60 degree TX winter weather but a cold front came through so it was chilly. I did get a lot of reading done in the book Inheritance (800 pages) so that is wonderful. That review should be up next week and then the challenge of reading my owned books continues.

Around the Blogospere:-What makes a great blog design? I try not to let blog design determine whether or not I am going to follow a blog or not. But some that I have seen are in a serious mess and it makes them hard to read. It's the ones that are very very busy with colors and patterns.
-Reading with Depression. For those who have experienced this it's a great article! I've been wanting to stop one of the drugs I take for my anxiety/depression because it is makes my appetite twice what it once was. It's tough.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

The first volume of a glorious two-volume, four-color graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman's #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning novel The Graveyard Book, adapted by P. Craig Russell and illustrated by an extraordinary team of renowned artists.
Inventive, chilling, and filled with wonder, Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book reaches new heights in this stunning adaptation. Artists Kevin Nowlan, P. Craig Russell, Tony Harris, Scott Hampton, Galen Showman, Jill Thompson, and Stephen B. Scott lend their own signature styles to create an imaginatively diverse and yet cohesive interpretation of Neil Gaiman's luminous novel.
Volume One contains Chapter One through the Interlude, while Volume Two will include Chapter Six to the end.

I really enjoyed reading Neil Gaiman's novel The Graveyard Book. I was blown away with how good it was and am so glad I picked it up and read it. I found out a while back that there was going to be a graphic novel series I was pretty excited about it. I never picked it up though until recently when I starting reading great reviews about it. The artwork is pretty amazing. There are several illustrators throughout the graphic novel one for each chapter. The story is about a child whose family is murdered in the middle of the night when luckily the child wanders into the graveyard. While there the ghost of his mother appears to the ghosts in the graveyard and begs them to take care of her son. The rest of the story is about the many adventures Nobody (the name the ghosts give the child) has in the graveyard and the friends he makes there. Really it is heart warming mixed with spookiness.

It's been a while since I read the book so the story was kind of new and fresh to me. I am so glad that I am reading this book basically when both graphic novels are being released. I have volume 2 on hold at the library already. What I hope that readers of the graphic novels will do is read this and then go on to read the actual novel. This graphic novel was just perfect enough for adults to love the story even though it is marketed as a young adult book.

To take The Graveyard Book and make it visually stunning is quite a feet. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next book. The graphic novel really does follow pretty close to the novel so there is a treat for readers too! If you love the supernatural this one is for you!!

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Another Lego game!! YES! I have played all the Lego games that have come out. So fun. Just easy going games that really everyone can play. This one adds some new features that the other Lego games don't have. For example you now collect items to make objects. So when you shop bushes you get logs/rope and then use those items in the game to make something. One thing that did annoy me about this game is why Lego didn't just wait until the third movie came out to release this game? This is because the game only includes the first two movies (Hobbit/Desolation of Smaug) and not the third movie. The game was released in April they could've waited a few more months. Is the Battle of the Five Armies Lego game going to be on one game now? Or will Lego re-release this game and include that movie in it? Who knows!

I love that this video game has the same humorous feeling that the other Lego games have. I usually laugh out loud a few times while playing these games. In this particular Lego game you have to go on a mission to find the black smith and help him out. This became frustrating because I would have rather had the black smith available earlier in the game so I could build more objects sooner in the game and not have to go back and replay some sections once the black smith was available. Most of the parts in the movies are present in the game.. including the barrel scene which lasted a little longer then it should've.

There is also a find the missing piece game added to this Lego game which is different from the other Lego games out there. The faster you find the piece the more gold money you get. This was fun and a great edition (the Lego Movie game had this feature also). Another feature in this game is that the characters do a two person attack. So the dwarfs will link arms together and break something or attack a creature. There is also campfires located around that change the game from day to night. This prompts different types of game play to take place.

I enjoyed this game and I like that Lego keeps putting out these games and adding just a few new features in each game to keep things interesting. If you haven't given the Lego games a chance this is a fun one and you should give it a go. B+

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Let's chat about what's going on this week... on my blog.. on other
blogs... on the internet... and just everywhere!
I link up my post to Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Reader.

Happy Sunday! For those of you that read last week's Sunday Post and were wondering.. the bookcases are finished being put together. Four trips to IKEA. I really love them and they just look fancy. The old bookcases are nice still and I am hoping to sell them but am going to wait to put them up for sale when the weather gets a little nicer out. I think people are more likely to buy furniture then. If you can believe those bookcases in the first picture are over 30 years old. They were my mom's and she gave them to me. Walmart even still sells the exact ones! Blows my mind. Guess they are still in style.

Before:

After:

My husband said this to me this week, "So I know this is late in the game, but do you want me to proof read your blog posts? You have a lot of grammar mistakes." WHAT! Yikes I didn't notice. Well obviously I didn't notice. I usually just write up a post on a whim like right now and boom, hit publish. ** I am awkwardly thinking of all my posts and wondering what in the world I said on them!!! Decides it's too much work to go back and look.****

So my team the Denver Broncos lost in football today so I don't even really care who goes to the Super Bowl now. Such a bummer. Now that I think about it... it's totally a bummer that football is over. Sigh... now my Sundays will be boring until Game of Thrones starts back up. Can't wait for that. I failed so hard core at Bout of Books this time. I was just either not in the mood, or didn't have time, or .. well I failed. That's the point. Maybe next time I'll get more books read!

Around the Blogospere:
- Kickstarter author drama!!! Yikes! There is always drama somewhere. Not sure how I feel about this. Should the money have gone just to the book? Or to the authors living expenses?
-Mini Bloggiesta is here!! Do you have thing on your blog to work on??? Get it done with this event.
-I am always hearing people chatter about the "read more" button. Do you like it? Dislike it??? I can't ever decide if I should put it on my posts or not.
-Revamping your blog this year. I love the new year. I love the idea of fresh starts!
-More blogger plagiarism. Really people why do you blog is you are going to just copy someone??? The fun part about blogging for me is to get my ideas out there to the world. What "I" think of something.

Internet:
We're at that time of year when there really aren't any movies in the theater. Marvel did release an Ant Man trailer. It looks OK.. but since it's Marvel I am pretty sure it is going to be good. But we'll see.

Books, Books Books:

I checked out a bunch of Bobbi Brown make-up books from the library so I should have up a post for that soon.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Project
Disney: The plan is to tackle all of the Disney films, re-reading the
classic stories and tales that inspired many of them and to look at how
the changes the filmmakers made, the new elements they introduced and
the essential elements they kept. We will, of course, be talking about
the films as movies as well, saying why we enjoy them and what some of
our favorite moments are, but our focus will be on looking at them as
adaptations. For the films that are not drawn from any one work we’ll be
looking at some of the possible literary influences that we see in the
stories. I am participating in Project Disney inspired by Picture Me
Reading!

This week's Project Disney is Melody Time...another lesser known Disney movie. Released in 1948, this film is a collection of music sequences similar to the previous Disney films Make Mine Music, Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. This was a difficult movie to find since it has not been rereleased since 1998 (and was never released from the theater till then!) so I got it through interlibrary loan. Melody Music is of course not remastered or in HD. I could really tell... I think the anthology would be beautiful when redone. The beginning of the film has a pretty little introduction musical. So fun to listen to ... "Melody Time" is a catchy tune. The film though is a little... boring. I hate to say that but I can see why Disney hasn't bothered in releasing it again.

The first video in the collection is Once Upon a Wintertime. This is based off an old Christmas song that really isn't popular anymore. The segment shows a couple during their courting time through their memories. They go ice skating and there is almost an accident until there is a great rescue. This is beautiful!

Bumble Boogieis the next musical we get to enjoy. This song was originally from an opera and titled “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. In the opera the bee is actually a prince who is turned into an insect so he can fly and visit his father who doesn't know he is alive. It is quite a beautiful song.... Disney's version puts a little bit of jazz into the track. In the Disney interpretation there is a bumble bee who is trying to escape different objects like flowers shaped as piano keys and trumpets. It is a surreal psychedelic video that is colorful and was even considered to be included in Fantasia.

Next up we have The Legend of Johnny Appleseed. This song shows the story of Johnny Chapman who was a real frontier man. He would go through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois planting apples on the assumption that by doing this he was insuring a better afterlife (based on his religion). He was planting the trees for profit though, for example he would trade the apple seeds for supplies and what not. He did die in his sleep as well. The song for this segment "The Lord's Been Good to Me" is a real hymn that was song prior to the making of this short. Some parts of the story are not true and are apart of the folklore of Johnny Appleseed including the tin hat you see in the video. There is a lot of reference to religion in this short and I am sure Disney would not do this today to not offend anyone... though Johnny's religion was a big part of why he was doing what he was doing.

I checked out the book American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne from the library to read this story. Of course this is a story with the authors spin on it since that is what all Tall Tales are. I love that Disney presents this tale the way it does... what a fun way to learn about American literature. Disney is one of the places I was first introduced to characters like Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and Johnny Appleseed.

Little Toot is based off of a book by Hardie Gramatky and since it's quite popular the book is easy to find since it is still in print. The book even went on to be a book series where Toot goes to San Fransisco and even meets the Loch Monster! I enjoyed the story and the watercolor illustrations in it which were also done by the author. I was unable to find a video of this one .... so you will just have to go and find the DVD to watch it. This one is a little scary... not just the animation but the song too. It's the video I remember watching as a kid (probably because it's sad and scary). That poor Little Toot! He is just out to have some fun instead of working. In the book we find Toot experiencing a lot of different emotions which is probably why this is still a popular book today. It's about redemption, betrayal, depression, bullying, forgiveness, you name it!

Trees is a musical based off the poem of the same name by Joyce Kilmore. I'll be honest... this one also has a little bit of religions symbols. At the very end the tree looks like the Cross on a hill. Another thing Disney will probably not do again. This is the one film that I would think could be put into Fantasia rather then Bumble Boogie. I was able to find the poem online so here it is:

I THINK that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

This next colorful song is Blame it on the Sambawhich is an English version of “Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho,” by Ernesto Nazareth, a Brazilian composer. In the video Donald an Jose are bored until Aracuan shows them the Samba. Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, and the Aracuan bird reprise their roles from The Three Caballeros another feature Disney film. This is a fun song and had me wanting to dance around... there is even some live action footage mixed in.

Pecos Bill is next up.. I am sure you probably saw this one back in the day on the Disney channel, you know before is stopped showing Disney cartoons. Some of the footage was edited when released on home video in 1998. In the original cartoon Pecos is smoking a cigarette so there are some odd hand movements from Pecos in the home video edition. One thing I learned from this Project Disney is that Pecos Bill is not real folklore! WHAT! I know... he is actually a created story presented as if it was American folklore. Confusing?? Pecos Bill falls under the category of fakelore. Fakelore is where a character is created and the author makes it seem like they were a folk hero of the American West. The musical segment for this song includes some live action shots too. I thought it was neat and the music is catchy.

Pecos Bill was invented by Edward J O'reilly and eventually collected in a book (though I couldn't find that exact book). I read the Pecos Bill story in American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne which was a fun story to read. I was unable to find this video on youtube but I did happen to find an unedited version on the internet if you are interested in watching it. You can just play it and watch it. In this one the Indians are still in it and Pecos Bill is still smoking his cigarettes.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Ok... I am a few days late in posting this, but I am just now going
through all the challenges out there and which ones to join. First up of
course is the goodreads challenge which I participate in every year.
Goodreads was one of the first websites that really got me into reading
and had things take off for me. So of course I joined some. I guess you can't embed the goodreads challenges anymore???

The next one I really loved this year that I have been seeing bloggers participating in is the Pop Sugar Book Challenge!! I didn't even know that site had Challenges so I am actually looking through all of them. You will have to click on the image to enlarge it since I couldn't really size it right for the webpage.

I am going to participate in the Snagged @ The Library Challenge where we read 12 books from the library this year. It's going to actually be pretty easy for me since I get all my books from the library. But we'll see since another one of my goals is to read books I own this year too. So we'll see!!

Lory @ The Emerald City is hosting this Challenge. I really really want to read the books I own this year. I have a few that I have bought over the past two years that keep getting put to the side because of library books.

I am going to finish a bunch of series this year!!

Are there any challenges you are doing this year??? I am looking for a finish series challenge but haven't found one yet... do you happen to know if anyone is hosting one???

Thursday, January 8, 2015

I
read a lot of comics and rarely review them here on the blog. That's
because I really don't have a lot to say for an entire post. So I
thought I would review several comics on one post. I will still review
graphic novels on their own now and then, but this is where I will talk
about super-hero type comics (DC/Marvel) or sequels to some that I have
already reviewed.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Time for the Perpetual Page Turner's End of Year Survey!
I had a lot of fun doing this last year so I am totally in again. Be
sure to join in the fun .. if you do be sure to put your name on the linky and visit other blogs participating.

Oaths sworn... loyalties tested... forces collide.
It's been only months since Eragon first uttered "brisingr", an ancient language term for fire. Since then, he's not only learned to create magic with words — he's been challenged to his very core. Following the colossal battle against the Empires warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still, there is more adventure at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.
First is Eragon's oath to his cousin, Roran: to help rescue Roran's beloved from King Galbatorix's clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength — as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices — choices that will take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.
Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

I am so happy to be moving along in this series still!! Yeah!! The books are so long so it does take me some time to get through them. This one was almost 800 pages! Wowsers! I am really enjoying reading the journey of all the characters in the book so I keep reading on. I will mention as I did in the reviews for the first two books in the series that this book is wordy. Paolini goes on and on about details. The color of the grass... the color of the sky. There have been a few details that I have rolled my eyes at that they were even mentioned. Did I have to read that Saphira the dragon stopped so Eragon could "relieve himself". Um no... I figured he would have to go pee every now and then and not have to read about it.

This book like the others is all about traveling .. a collection of subplots really. We follow Eragon as he travels from one place to another back and forth. This book he goes to the where the dwarf live while they select a leader. He has to go there in person to sway the vote apparently. Then we head back to where the elves live and finally go to the battle. Brisingr was supposed to be the final book in the series. I remember when I found out there was going to be a fourth book I was like "NOOOOOOOOO"!! These books are so long... I didn't want another one. But it does
work... I mean it reads just like the other two so if you like that sort
of thing this is an OK third book.

The most important event to happen in the book is the making of Eragon's sword. Which of course is the name of this book. Brisingr. I love that name and the events of making the sword were fun to read about. In this book we get more chapters about Roran, Eragon's cousin. These were the most interesting chapters in the book for me. Roran's story is all about action and plot rather then Eragon's where we are always reading about what he is thinking. Roran is a great character because we see him grow from just a farmer to a person who has a lot of responsibility. He is kind of like Batman. He really has no special powers expect his own strength and whit.

The book is slow though... until the very end. All of a sudden the plot thickens! I finally get to see some of my favorite characters.. Angela, Oromis and Glaedr. Who all get too little parts in the book. I want everyone to finally meet with Galbatorix who is the illusive villain that the readers have been waiting to see and meet. Obviously we will get to meet him in book four... I do think though maybe he should've made and appearance a little sooner then that. I am hoping that book four, Inheritance, is a little bit faster paced. More action. Though it is just as long as the first three books so I am sure there will be a lot of details in it. Again this series is long winded. Details Details Details. Even sometimes my mind wanders as a I read along and I have to go back and re-read a paragraph here and there. If that is not something you enjoy the skip this series. Whenever I read the reviews on goodreads that is the biggest complaint. On to the next and final book!!